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We report on the electromagnetic response of digital ferromagnetic heterostructures (DFH): systems with δ-doped MnAs layers separated by GaAs spacers of variable thickness (y). The gross features of the infrared conductivity of DFH samples are consistent with the notion that these digital structures are GaAs/Ga1-xMnxAs superlattices. This conclusion is supported by a combination of spectral weight analysis and effective medium theory. The optical properties of DFH also provide insights into the evolution of their critical temperature with GaAs spacing. In DFH a low-lying gap materializes in the energy dependent conductivity, which is interpreted as a mobility gap resulting from Anderson localization.

Infrared spectroscopy is used to study the doping and temperature dependence of the intragap absorption in the ferromagnetic semiconductor Ga1-xMnxAs, from a paramagnetic, x=0.017 sample to a heavily doped, x=0.079 sample. Transmission and reflectance measurements coupled with a Kramers-Kronig analysis allow us to determine the optical constants of the thin films. All ferromagnetic samples show a broad absorption resonance near 200 meV, within the GaAs band gap. We present a critical analysis of possible origins of this feature, including a Mn-induced impurity band and intervalence band transitions. The overall magnitude of the real part of the frequency dependent conductivity grows with increasing Mn doping, and reaches a maximum in the x=0.052 sample where T-C saturates at the highest value (similar to70 K) for the series. We observe spectroscopic signatures of compensation and track its impact on the electronic and magnetic state across the Mn phase diagram. The temperature dependence of the far infrared spectrum reveals a significant decrease in the effective mass of itinerant carriers in the ferromagnetic state. A simple scaling relation between changes in the mass and the sample magnetization suggest that the itinerant carriers play a key role in producing the ferromagnetism in this system.

Background: Oxytocin is being evaluated as a potential treatment for psychostimulant use disorders. It is unknown what effect oxytocin has on dopamine signaling in response to psychostimulants in brain regions such as the striatum where oxytocin and dopamine interact to process natural rewards. We investigated the effect of oxytocin on striatal dopamine release stimulated by methylphenidate whose mechanism of action is analogous to that of cocaine., Methods: We conducted an [11C] raclopride positron emission tomography study to assess striatal dopamine release in male rhesus macaques treated with oxytocin (80 IU) (administered via the intranasal [N = 5] and intravenous [N = 6] routes) followed by methylphenidate/[11C] raclopride., Results: Oxytocin delivered by both routes significantly reduced methylphenidate-stimulated dopamine release in the dorsal striatum (caudate/putamen). These effects were, in part, evidenced by a reduction in dorsal striatal [11C] raclopride binding potential (increased dopamine release) following oxytocin administration., Conclusions: The results provide translational and mechanistic evidence for the potential role of oxytocin as a treatment for psychostimulant use disorders., (Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of CINP 2024.)

The cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) cascade is thought to play an important role in regulating alcohol-dependent behaviors, with potentially opposite effects following acute versus chronic administration. Phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) is the primary brain enzyme that metabolizes cAMP, thereby terminating its signal. Radioligand binding to PDE4 serves as an indirect biomarker of cAMP activity, as cAMP-protein kinase A (PKA)-mediated phosphorylation of PDE4 increases its affinity for radioligand binding ~10-fold. Of the four PDE4 subtypes, PDE4B polymorphisms are known to be strongly associated with alcohol and substance use disorders. This study imaged rats with the PDE4B-preferring positron emission tomography (PET) radioligand [ 18 F]PF-06445974 following acute and chronic ethanol administration, aiming to explore the potential of PDE4B PET imaging for future human studies. Compared to the control group treated with saline, acute alcohol administration (i.p. ethanol 0.5 g/kg) significantly increased whole brain uptake of [ 18 F]PF-06445974 as early as 30 minutes post-exposure. This effect persisted at 2 hours, peaked at 4 hours, and diminished at 6 hours and 24 hours post-exposure. In contrast, in a rat model of alcohol dependence, [ 18 F]PF-06445974 brain uptake was significantly reduced at 5 hours post-exposure and was normalized by 3 days. This reduction may reflect long-term adaptation to repeated alcohol-induced activation of cAMP signaling with chronic exposure. Taken together, the results suggest that PET imaging of PDE4B in individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD) should be considered in conjunction with ongoing trials of PDE4 inhibitors to treat alcohol withdrawal and reduce alcohol consumption., Competing Interests: Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. This is a U.S. Government work and not under copyright protection in the US; foreign copyright protection may apply.)

Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), the main inhibitory neurotransmitter in the nervous system, plays an important role in biobehavioral processes that regulate alcohol seeking, food intake, and stress response. The metabotropic GABA-B receptor has been investigated as a potential therapeutic target for alcohol use disorder, by using orthosteric agonists (e.g., baclofen) and positive allosteric modulators. Whether and how pharmacological manipulation of the GABA-B receptor, in combination with alcohol intake, may affect feeding- and stress-related neuroendocrine pathways remains unknown. In the present randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, thirty-four alcohol-dependent individuals received baclofen (30 mg/day) or placebo in a naturalistic outpatient setting for one week, and then performed a controlled laboratory experiment which included alcohol cue-reactivity, fixed-dose priming, and self-administration procedures. Blood samples were collected, and the following neuroendocrine markers were measured: ghrelin, leptin, amylin, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), insulin, prolactin, thyroid-stimulating hormone, growth hormone, cortisol, and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). During the outpatient phase, baclofen significantly increased blood concentrations of acyl-ghrelin (p = 0.01), leptin (p = 0.01), amylin (p = 0.004), and GLP-1 (p = 0.02). Significant drug × time-point interaction effects for amylin (p = 0.001) and insulin (p = 0.03), and trend-level interaction effects for GLP-1 (p = 0.06) and ACTH (p = 0.10) were found during the laboratory experiment. Baclofen, compared to placebo, had no effect on alcohol drinking in this study (p's ≥ 0.05). Together with previous studies, these findings shed light on the role of the GABAergic system and GABA-B receptors in the shared neurobiology of alcohol-, feeding-, and stress-related behaviors., (Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Background: Food intake and use of drugs of abuse like cocaine share common central and peripheral physiological pathways. Appetitive hormones play a major role in regulating food intake; however, little is known about the effects of acute cocaine administration on the blood concentrations of these hormones in cocaine users., Methods: We evaluated serum concentrations of six appetitive hormones: ghrelin (total and acyl-ghrelin), amylin, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), insulin, leptin and peptide YY (PYY), as well as acute cardiorespiratory and subjective responses of 8 experienced cocaine users who received 25mg intravenous (IV) cocaine., Results: Serum concentrations of GLP-1 (p=0.014) and PYY (p=0.036) were significantly decreased one hour following IV cocaine administration; there was a trend towards a decrease for insulin (p=0.055) and amylin (p=0.063) concentrations, while no significant IV cocaine effect was observed for ghrelin (total or acyl-ghrelin) or leptin concentrations (p's≫>0.5). We also observed associations between hormone concentrations acutely affected by IV cocaine (GLP-1, PYY, insulin, amylin) and some cocaine-related cardiorespiratory and subjective responses (e.g., increased heart and respiratory rates; feeling high and anxious)., Discussion: These findings show a significant effect of acute IV cocaine administration on some appetitive hormones and suggest potential associations between these hormones and cocaine-related cardiorespiratory and subjective responses. Additional research is needed to further investigate the potential mechanisms underlining these associations., (Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Operant oral self-administration methods are commonly used to study the reinforcing properties of ethanol in animals. However, the standard methods require saccharin/sucrose fading, water deprivation and/or extended training to initiate operant responding in rats. This paper describes a novel and efficient method to quickly initiate operant responding for ethanol that is convenient for experimenters and does not require water deprivation or saccharin/sucrose fading, thus eliminating the potential confound of using sweeteners in ethanol operant self-administration studies. With this method, Wistar rats typically acquire and maintain self-administration of a 20% ethanol solution in less than two weeks of training. Furthermore, blood ethanol concentrations and rewards are positively correlated for a 30 min self-administration session. Moreover, naltrexone, an FDA-approved medication for alcohol dependence that has been shown to suppress ethanol self-administration in rodents, dose-dependently decreases alcohol intake and motivation to consume alcohol for rats self-administering 20% ethanol, thus validating the use of this new method to study the reinforcing properties of alcohol in rats.

A hyperglutamatergic state has been hypothesized to drive escalation of alcohol intake. This hypothesis predicts that an impairment of glutamate clearance through inactivation of the astrocytic glutamate transporter, GLAST (EAAT1), will result in escalation of alcohol consumption. Here, we used mice with a deletion of GLAST to test this prediction. WT and GLAST KO mice were tested for alcohol consumption using two-bottle free-choice drinking. Alcohol reward was evaluated using conditioned place preference (CPP). Sensitivity to depressant alcohol effects was tested using the accelerating rotarod, alcohol-induced hypothermia, and loss of righting reflex. Extracellular glutamate was measured using microdialysis, and striatal slice electrophysiology was carried out to examine plasticity of the cortico-striatal pathway as a model system in which adaptations to the constitutive GLAST deletion can be studied. Contrary to our hypothesis, GLAST KO mice showed markedly decreased alcohol consumption, and lacked CPP for alcohol, despite a higher locomotor response to this drug. Alcohol-induced ataxia, hypothermia, and sedation were unaffected. In striatal slices from GLAST KO mice, long-term depression (LTD) induced by high frequency stimulation, or by post-synaptic depolarization combined with the l-type calcium channel activator FPL 64176 was absent. In contrast, normal synaptic depression was observed after application of the cannabinoid 1 (CB1) receptor agonist WIN55,212-2. Constitutive deletion of GLAST unexpectedly results in markedly reduced alcohol consumption and preference, associated with markedly reduced alcohol reward. Endocannabinoid signaling appears to be down-regulated upstream of the CB1 receptor as a result of the GLAST deletion, and is a candidate mechanism behind the reduction of alcohol reward observed., (Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Background: A dysregulation of the corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) system has been implicated in the development of excessive alcohol consumption and dependence. The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether the CRH system is also recruited when non-dependent Wistar rats escalate to high alcohol intake in the intermittent (alternate days) model of drinking., Methods: We compared intermittent and continuous access to 20% (v/v) alcohol in a two-bottle free choice drinking paradigm. Following a total of twenty 24-hour exposures for every experimental group, we assessed signs of alcohol withdrawal, including anxiety-like behavior and sensitivity to stress. The selective CRH1 receptor (CRH1R) antagonist antalarmin (0, 10, 20 mg/kg, i.p.) was tested on alcohol consumption., Results: Intermittent access to 20% alcohol led non-selected Wistar rats to escalate their voluntary intake to a high and stable level, whereas continuously exposed animals maintained a lower consumption. These groups did not differ in physical withdrawal signs. In addition, no differences were found when anxiogenic-like behavior was studied, neither under basal conditions or following restraint stress. Nevertheless, sensitivity to the treatment with the CRH1R antalarmin was observed since a reduction of 20% alcohol intake was found in both groups of animals regardless of the regimen of alcohol exposure. In addition, antalarmin was effective when injected to animals exposed to intermittent 10% (v/v) alcohol whereas it failed to suppress 10% continuous alcohol intake., Conclusions: Pharmacological blockade of CRH1R reduced alcohol drinking when sustained high levels of intake were achieved suggesting that the CRH system plays a key role when high doses of ethanol are consumed by non-dependent subjects. This supports the notion that CRH system not only maintains the dependent state but also engages the transition to dependence., (Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Modulation of alcohol craving induced by challenge stimuli may predict the efficacy of new pharmacotherapies for alcoholism. We evaluated two pharmacological challenges, the α(2)-adrenergic antagonist yohimbine, which reinstates alcohol seeking in rats, and the serotonergic compound meta-chlorophenylpiperazine (mCPP), previously reported to increase alcohol craving in alcoholics. To assess the predictive validity of this approach, the approved alcoholism medication acamprosate was evaluated for its ability to modulate challenge-induced cravings. A total of 35 treatment seeking alcohol dependent inpatients in early abstinence were randomized to placebo or acamprosate (2997 mg daily). Following two weeks of medication, subjects underwent three challenge sessions with yohimbine, mCPP or saline infusion under double blind conditions, carried out in counterbalanced order, and separated by at least 5 days. Ratings of cravings and anxiety, as well as biochemical measures were obtained. In all, 25 subjects completed all three sessions and were included in the analysis. Cravings were modestly, but significantly higher following both yohimbine and mCPP challenge compared with saline infusion. The mCPP, but not yohimbine significantly increased anxiety ratings. Both challenges produced robust ACTH, cortisol and prolactin responses. There was a significant correlation between craving and the degree of alcoholism severity. Acamprosate administration did not influence craving. Both yohimbine and mCPP challenges lead to elevated alcohol craving in a clinical population of alcoholics, and these cravings correlate with alcoholism severity. Under the experimental conditions used, alcohol cravings induced by these two stimuli are not sensitive to acamprosate at clinically used doses.

Context: Acamprosate is approved for the treatment of alcoholism, but its mechanism of action remains unclear. Results of animal studies suggest that a persistent hyperglutamatergic state contributes to the pathogenesis of alcoholism and that acamprosate may exert its actions by intervening in this process. Human translation of these findings is lacking., Objective: To examine whether acamprosate modulates indices of central glutamate levels in recently abstinent alcohol-dependent patients as measured using proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (¹H-MRS)., Design: A 4-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized controlled experimental medicine study, with ¹H-MRS measures obtained on days 4 and 25., Setting: An inpatient research unit at the NIH Clinical Center. Patients Thirty-three patients who met the DSM-IV criteria for alcohol dependence and who were admitted for medically supervised withdrawal from ongoing alcohol use. Intervention Four weeks of acamprosate (initial oral loading followed by 1998 mg daily) or matched placebo, initiated at the time of admission., Main Outcome Measures: The glutamate to creatine ratio as determined using single-voxel ¹H-MRS in the anterior cingulate. Exploratory neuroendocrine, biochemical, and behavioral outcomes were also collected, as were safety- and tolerability-related measures., Results: There was a highly significant suppression of the glutamate to creatine ratio across time by acamprosate (time × treatment interaction: F₁(,)₂₉ = 13.5, P < .001). Cerebrospinal fluid levels of glutamate obtained in a subset of patients 4 weeks into abstinence were uncorrelated with the MRS measures and unaffected by treatment but were strongly correlated (R² = 0.48, P < .001) with alcohol dependence severity. Other exploratory outcomes, including repeated dexamethasone-corticotropin-releasing hormone tests, and psychiatric ratings were unaffected. Among tolerability measures, gastrointestinal symptoms were significantly greater in acamprosate-treated individuals, in agreement with the established profile of acamprosate., Conclusion: The MRS measures of central glutamate are reduced across time when acamprosate therapy is initiated at the onset of alcohol abstinence., Trial Registration: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00106106.

Background: Glutamatergic neurotransmission has been implicated in mechanisms of alcohol-induced neurodegeneration and cognitive impairment, but the underlying mechanism remains unknown. Here, we examined whether the group II metabotropic glutamate receptor agonist LY379268 prevents neuronal death and learning deficits in a rat model of binge-like exposure to alcohol., Methods: Following 4-day binge alcohol exposure concurrent with LY379268 or vehicle treatment, Fluoro-Jade B and transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) staining were carried out, and reversal learning in the Morris water maze was assessed., Results: Fluoro-Jade B staining indicating neurodegeneration was most extensive in the ventral hippocampus and the entorhinal cortex (EC). LY379268 was potently neuroprotective in the EC but not in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus. In parallel, binge alcohol exposure suppressed TGF-beta expression in both the EC and dentate gyrus, whereas LY379268 increased TGF-beta in the EC only. Finally, neuroprotective effects of LY379268 were accompanied by prevention of deficits in spatial reversal learning., Conclusions: Our data support a neuroprotective role for group II metabotropic glutamate receptor agonists and TGF-beta in alcohol-induced neurodegeneration., (Copyright 2010 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Rationale: Reduced voluntary alcohol consumption was recently found in neurokinin-1 receptor (NK1R)-deficient (KO) mice. It remains unknown whether this reflects developmental effects or direct regulation of alcohol consumption by NK1R:s, and whether the reduced consumption reflects motivational effects., Objective: The objective of this study is to obtain an expanded preclinical validation of NK1R antagonism as a candidate therapeutic mechanism in alcohol use disorders., Methods: The NK1R antagonist L-703,606 and NK1R KO mice were used in models that assess alcohol-related behaviors., Results: L-703,606 (3-10 mg/kg i.p.) dose-dependently suppressed alcohol intake in WT C57BL/6 mice under two-bottle free choice conditions but was ineffective in NK1R KO:s, demonstrating the receptor specificity of the effect. Alcohol reward, measured as conditioned place preference for alcohol, was reduced by NK1R receptor deletion in a gene dose-dependent manner. In a model where escalation of intake is induced by repeated cycles of deprivation and access, escalation was seen in WT mice, but not in KO mice. Among behavioral phenotypes previously reported for NK1R mice on a mixed background, an analgesic-like phenotype was maintained on the C57BL/6 background used here, while KO:s and WT:s did not differ in anxiety- and depression-related behaviors., Conclusions: Acute blockade of NK1R:s mimics the effects of NKR1 gene deletion on alcohol consumption, supporting a direct rather than developmental role of the receptor in regulation of alcohol intake. Inactivation of NK1R:s critically modulates alcohol reward and escalation, two key characteristics of addiction. These data provide critical support for NK1R antagonism as a candidate mechanism for treatment of alcoholism.

Introduction: Reinstatement of responding to a previously alcohol-associated lever following extinction is an established model of relapse-like behavior and can be triggered by stress exposure. Here, we examined whether neuropeptide Y (NPY), an endogenous anti-stress mediator, blocks reinstatement of alcohol-seeking induced by the pharmacological stressor yohimbine., Materials and Methods: NPY [5.0 or 10.0 mug/rat, intracerebroventricularly (ICV)] dose-dependently blocked the reinstatement of alcohol seeking induced by yohimbine (1.25 mg/kg, i.p.) but failed to significantly suppress the maintenance of alcohol self-administration. We then used c-fos expression mapping to examine neuronal activation following treatment with yohimbine or NPY alone or yohimbine following NPY pre-treatment., Results and Discussion: The analysis was focused on a network of structures previously implicated in yohimbine-induced reinstatement, comprised of central (CeA) and basolateral (BLA) amygdala and the shell of the nucleus accumbens (Nc AccS). Within this network, both yohimbine and NPY potently induced neuronal activation, and their effects were additive, presumably indicating activation of excitatory and inhibitory neuronal populations, respectively., Conclusion: These results suggest that NPY selectively suppresses relapse to alcohol seeking induced by stressful events and support the NPY system as an attractive target for the treatment of alcohol addiction.

Stereo electron microscopy was employed to examine thin sections of Chinese hamster ovary metaphase chromosomes in situ and of chromosomes released from Chinese hamster ovary cells by several methods. Detergent lysis of cells in a buffer containing Mg++ and Ca++ and hypotonic lysis of cells in a hexylene glycol-Ca++ buffer released chromosomes that exhibited a three-dimensional meshwork of about 50 nm chromatin fibers. Fragmentation of cells in serum-free medium by vortexing with glass beads revealed a more dispersed chromosomal morphology with a mesh of 10 to 25-nm fibers exhibiting a presumptive nucleosomal substructure. Possible origins of the various fiber sizes are discussed in terms of current models of metaphase chromosome structure.

Utilizing the techniques of stereo-electron microscopy (stereo-EM) and energy-dispersive x-ray analysis (EDX), we have studied aspects of the ultrastructure of avian reticulocytes. Stereo-EM of thin sections (0.10 to 0.25 mum thick) stained with uranyl and lead revealed the three-dimensional arrangement of 25 nm chromatin fibers on the tangential surfaces of nuclei. Use of the Bernhard staining procedure in combination with stereo-EM permitted a three-dimensional view of the interchromatin spaces and channels leading to the nuclear pores, and of cytoplasmic polyribosomes. With either staining technique we frequently encountered in the cytoplasm clusters and paracrystalline arrays of electron-dense granules with granule diameters approximately 1/2 that of monomer ribosomes. These granules were highly electron-dense in unstained specimens and have been identified as intracellular ferritin on the basis of the similarity of their ultrastructural morphology to that of horse spleen ferritin and their high content of iron as determined by EDX. The possibility that these granules represent toxic products of phenylhydrazine treatment (Heinz bodies) is considered unlikely, since we have demonstrated in this study that Heinz bodies cannot be visualized in unstained preparations, do not reveal the same granular structure, and do not contain significant amounts of iron above background. The occurrence of intracellular ferritin is discussed in light of current concepts of iron transport and storage during erythropoiesis.